Time Stood Still
by Kristen Elizabeth
Summary: When tragedy strikes, will Time stand by and watch? Does she have a choice?


Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi-san created them. I'm simply playing with them. Also, the lyrics to "Time Stood Still" belong to Madonna. I don't really have to give Puccini credit for his wonderful opera "La Boheme", but I will anyways.   
  
Author's Notes: My first attempt at showing the future. I hope I don't mess it up too badly, since details are so very sketchy.   
  
Dedication: To Christin, my oldest and dearest friend. And to Jo, for believing in me more than I believe in myself.   
  
************  
  
Time Stood Still  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
************  
  
"Pluto!!" I could hear her through the dense blue crystal of the door that led into my chamber. Her voice was hoarse from crying and shouting. My heart ached for her, but I remained quiet.   
  
In between gasping sobs, she continued to call my name. "Pluto!! I know you're in there! Please!! Please!!" Her pleas were heart-wrenching. I fought the urge to answer the door, to take her in my arms and sooth her. She was, after all, one of my oldest and dearest friends and partners. "Pluto!!", she screamed again.   
  
Then, there was a moment of silence. Fearing the worst, I stood up and made a move towards the door. But then, I heard her voice once more. "Setsuna...", she whispered. "Please, Setsuna....."  
  
I froze. It had been nearly a thousand years since I had heard her call me that. Hearing my human incarnation's name momentarily transported me back in time. I closed my eyes, surprised to feel a tiny trickle of saltwater run down my cheek. Saltwater.   
  
Standing there in the chamber assigned to me, deep within the palace of Crystal Tokyo, I, Sailor Pluto, the Sailor Senshi of Revolution, Guardian to the Gates of Time, began to cry. I cried for the misery of the woman on the other side of the door. I cried for her partner's soul which had been lost to us. I cried for knowing exactly why she had come here.   
  
And I cried for knowing that no matter how much I wanted to, I could never do what she was going to ask of me.   
  
***********  
  
"Despair, regret and tenderness  
Is what I feel for you.  
I loved you from the very start;   
What else could I do?"  
  
************  
  
"Uranus! It's up to you!!"  
  
"We're counting on you, Uranus! Please don't let us down!!"  
  
"I know you can do it, love."   
  
The tall, tan haired woman nodded firmly. The back of one hand brushed a bead of sweat from her brow as the other reached up into the air, catching the Frisbee as it soared in a wide arch over her head.   
  
Her teammates, myself included, broke into a cheer. Uranus smiled and lowered her arm, her fingers grasping the red plastic disc. She winked at the other girls. "I believe that's the game, ladies."   
  
The opposing team's leader pushed her black bangs out of her eyes and propped her hands up on her hips. "I don't think these teams are exactly equal. Jupiter is our tallest member, but you all have Uranus *and* Pluto." She grinned good-naturedly.   
  
"Oh, Mars, don't be a sore loser." The before-mentioned Jupiter came up behind her friend and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Next time, we'll draw straws to make up teams...not just Outers versus Inners."   
  
A petite, blue haired woman cleared her throat delicately. "I don't think there will be a next time. If anyone finds out we took the Frisbee from the museum...."  
  
"Mercury, Mercury, Mercury." The Inner team's fourth member shook her blond head sadly. "What are they going to do? Fire us?"   
  
"I'm with Venus on that one, dear." Jupiter laughed. "I can just see it now..." She spread her hands into the air dramatically. "'Queen's oldest and dearest Senshi banished for illegal Frisbee use!'."  
  
I watched their conversation with amusement from my place with my fellow Outer Senshi. A thousand years and many battles had passed, but these women still bore traces of the high school teenagers they had once been. It was as comforting a thought as it was nostalgic. What was the old saying? Some things never change.   
  
But then, some things do, I realized as I looked around at the group of women. Ten years had passed since they had woken from the thousand year slumber. Ten years since the founding of Crystal Tokyo. And for those ten years, we had been under the good and gentle rule of Neo-Queen Serenity, our former partner and friend, Sailor Moon. Ten years. Their bodies had begun to show it. Most noticeable was Saturn. When I had laid her into slumber in the 21st century, she was a child. Now, she was a woman, taller than Neptune, and promising to be almost as tall as Uranus.   
  
As if reading my thoughts, she looked at me with her wide, amethyst eyes. "Perhaps if Chibi-usa were here, she could have evened the score", she whispered.   
  
I smiled. We all had our pet names for Queen Serenity and King Endymion's daughter, but Saturn was the only one, besides the girl's parents, who still called her by her 21st century name. "She would be here if she could." Our young princess had been away from us for quite awhile, having traveled back to the 21st century to train with Sailor Moon.   
  
Saturn sighed. I knew she missed her dear friend terribly. I reminded myself to speak to Serenity about getting a message to the Small Lady to come home. Saturn wasn't the only one who missed her, even though I knew that in one form, in another time, we were all with her.   
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the two women who made up half of the Outer Senshi team. Standing on her toes, Neptune closed her eyes and kissed Uranus' sun-flushed cheek lovingly. Her long time partner returned the gesture by slipping one arm around Neptune's slender waist, pulling the woman closer to her body. It was an exchange I had been witness to many times, but it still had the power to warm my heart.   
  
"Hey you two!" Venus cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "Get a room!"   
  
The words were so very 21st century that we all broke out laughing. Every now and then their old lives and their old selves had the power to creep up on them. The only one who seemed immune was Serenity herself. It was a good thing, I reminded myself, thinking back to the fourteen year old girl who could trip over her own two feet.   
  
Apparently wishing to keep with the 21st century banter, Uranus prepared to raise a finger in reply, but fortunately, just then I spotted a distant figure up on the hill. I lifted my arm and pointed. "It's the King."   
  
All eyes followed my pointed finger. The tall, athletic frame of Serenity's husband stood on the horizon for a moment. Then, with a sweep of his cape, he turned and disappeared over the hill, heading back to the palace.   
  
I looked at the group of women. It was hard to contain our joy upon seeing him; we knew what his appearance signaled. We had been waiting for this day... "It's time."   
  
************  
  
The woman on the bed let out a long, low cry. A cry of incredible pain and utter exhaustion. I bent over and took ahold of the two impossibly long silver-blond waterfalls of hair that spilled onto the twisted, white sheets, pulling them away from her neck and shoulders. On the other side of the bed, Jupiter wet a cotton cloth with cool water and gently pressed it to the crescent moon on the laboring woman's forehead.   
  
Our worried King looked down at his Queen. "Mercury...it's been hours", he said. His eyes told me that he was in as much pain watching his wife give birth as she was in actually giving birth.   
  
Mercury smiled at him in her eternally calm way. "Has it been so long since Usa-chan was born that you've forgotten how much work it is to bring a baby into the world, Endymion?"   
  
"Don't...you remember...Mercury?" The Queen struggled to form sentences in the midst of the pain. "He didn't actually....see Chibi-usa...being born. He...." She squeezed her eyes closed as another contraction took ahold of her small body. Slowly, she relaxed again. "He...fainted."   
  
The King was momentarily speechless; a smidge of pink colored his cheeks. "I did not faint", he finally mumbled in reply.   
  
"Oh...I'm sorry." Serenity smiled at him. "You passed....out." An amused look on his handsome face, Endymion kissed the back of Serenity's hand which he had been holding for the past six hours.   
  
Jupiter caught my eye over the Queen's head and winked. "Actually Endymion, this is going much faster than Usa-chan's birth."   
  
Serenity nodded. Her chin instinctively tucked itself against her chest as a stronger contraction seized her. "Oh!!", was all she managed to say before the pain was too much.   
  
"See what I mean?", Jupiter remarked, knowingly.   
  
I let go of Serenity's hair, making sure it was tucked out of her way. "Let the other Senshi in", I said to the serving girl at the door. She nodded and left the chamber, returning only seconds later with the other women behind her. Uranus and Neptune. Venus and Mars. Saturn. We had all been taking turns at the Queen's side throughout her labor, but now was a time for us all to be together. They gathered behind the bed, forming a semi-circle between Jupiter and myself.   
  
There was anticipation in their eyes. Joy for the event that was about to take place. Sympathy for the pain our Queen had to endure to make it happen. But as my gaze roamed over Neptune's face, I saw an additional emotion in her. Longing. Longing for something she could never have. A child of her own. The baby which would enter the world very shortly was the physical proof of the love between our Queen and our King. But as for the love between her and Uranus, there could never be that same proof.   
  
She must have noticed me staring at her, for she turned her head towards me and smiled. Her smile spoke volumes. It was a smile of acceptance for the things she had no control over. A smile that told me she was happy with her life, happy with the choices her heart had made. My shoulders relaxed and my attention returned to the Queen.   
  
************  
  
"Prince Motaki Chiba!!"   
  
Far below us, sprawled out over the quarter mile that made up the palace grounds, the people of Crystal Tokyo cheered. They had been gathering on the grounds for many hours, waiting in rapt enthusiasm for this moment. The presentation and naming of Queen Serenity and King Endymion's new son.   
  
Nestled in his mother's arms, the baby boy stirred at the sounds of the people below, but didn't wake. I craned my neck to see the child from my place at the far left of the royal couple. Although only a week old, the boy already bore a strong resemblance to his father. Dark wisps of hair covered his soft head and behind the closed lids were eyes that promised to be as blue as Endymion's.   
  
Serenity gently transferred her son to her husband's arms and stepped forward to address her subjects. "Thank you all for being with us today", she began in a voice that was clear and sweet. Regal. "We have been blessed by the birth of such a healthy son. Now he bears the name Motaki in honor of..." She looked back at Endymion. "In honor of a friend lost to us."   
  
It only took me a moment to decipher that. Before the founding of Crystal Tokyo, the younger girls, as well as Mamoru as he was called then, had a friend named Motoki. It didn't surprise me that they had chosen to bestow a version of the name upon their child. All the Senshi, with the exception of myself, had people they had lost during the millennium of slumber. Friends, siblings, parents, lovers.... They made a choice to let those people go, but each one carried the memories with them, always.   
  
Collectively, the Senshi stood up a little straighter. The next announcement the Queen would make would prove to be the most important of the day. Which of her Sailor Senshi would she choose to be her new child's special guardian? I remembered the day of the Small Lady's naming and presentation. The pride and honor I had felt when chosen for the position. I knew it would be the same for the whichever of the women chosen today.   
  
The thought of the Small Lady saddened me momentarily. If only it had been possible for her to have come home for her brother's presentation. I hoped that she was happy and safe with her mother, father and their friends younger selves.   
  
"When our daughter, Princess Usagi, was born, I placed the weight of her protection onto Sailor Pluto", Serenity said. She caught my eye and bowed her head. "And she has guarded the Princess with every bit of love and strength in her heart for many years." The Queen paused. "Now, a Prince has come into our lives. A Prince is in need of a special sort of protection...a special kind of guidance. And while I believe, beyond any doubt, that everyone standing around me will love him, I can only choose one to protect him." Serenity turned around. "Sailor Uranus."   
  
The tall woman in the navy blue and golden yellow fuku stepped forward. "Queen Serenity." She bowed. "It is an honor and a priviledge that you think me worthy for a task such as this. I can only hope that I never let you down."   
  
Endymion turned around and stepped towards Uranus. With a smile, he offered the baby to her. She hesitated for a moment, as if unsure how to proceed. Behind her and to the side, Neptune grinned at the sight of her eternally tomboyish lover awkwardly taking the child from its father.   
  
The people cheered. The Senshi smiled. The King and Queen clasped hands. I watched. As always.  
  
***********  
  
"Setsuna", she whispered again. Her voice seemed to be coming from the floor. I could picture her on her hands and knees in the hallway, talking to the door because the woman inside wouldn't reply. Couldn't reply.   
  
"I can't....", she cried. "I can't go on like this..." The voice lifted; the shadows on the blue crystal floor under the threshold told me she was at least standing again. "You can make it all right. You have the power....please, Setsuna..."  
  
Fighting back a choked reply, I lowered myself onto the edge of my bed and buried my face in my hands. I did have the power. But I also had a responsibility not to use it. Not even for this.  
  
"Setsuna!! Damn you....damn you...." She choked on a sob. "I need her...I need her back!!!!"   
  
"I'm sorry", I whispered so low that I didn't worry about her hearing. "I'm so very sorry."  
  
***********  
  
"A flame becomes a fading light,  
that burns inside my heart.  
And like a castle in the sand,  
It had to fall apart."  
  
***********  
  
"Taki! Don't go there....yes, that's right...stay away from the edge." Uranus sat up and lifted her sunglasses, an accessory from the past that she had never been able to part with, to show the little boy that she meant business. I watched as Motaki innocently put a finger in his mouth and backed away from the boat's railing.   
  
From the next chaise lounge over from mine, Neptune laughed, placing her palms lightly against her lover's back. "Maybe if we tied him to a chair below deck..."   
  
We watched as Mars broke away from the other Senshi and came up behind Motaki. With one sweep, she lifted the five year old prince off the boat deck and hugged him to her chest. He squealed with delight. "I've got him, Uranus", she called out happily.   
  
Uranus waved in gratitude and lowered her glasses, resettling herself against Neptune's side. "And you want one of those, kirei?" Her voice was joking, but I caught the pain that flashed through her girlfriend's blue eyes at the simple statement.   
  
"I just think that..." Neptune played with the ring on her right hand. "It's not a completely insane idea, Uranus."   
  
I could tell she was upset; she and Uranus usually still called each other by their 21st century names. Only someone who had knew her as well as Uranus, though, could have caught the anger in her words alone. To smooth things over, Uranus gave her a soft kiss. "Let's just think about this whole adoption thing a little bit longer, all right?"   
  
She nodded her aquamarine locks. There was silence for a few minutes as we lay on the deck of the royal yacht, enjoying the warm, spring day. We had dropped anchor nearly a mile offshore; I could barely see the strip of land that made up our country.   
  
"It's too bad that Serenity and Endymion couldn't join us today", I remarked, breaking the pause. "They would have enjoyed this."   
  
Uranus snickered. "I'll bet they're having just as much fun on their own as they would here." Neptune lightly slapped her arm. "What?", she asked, with mock innocence. "You know, if Pluto weren't right here...."  
  
"If Pluto weren't right here you'd do what?", I wondered, raising an eyebrow.   
  
Neptune blushed. "Nothing. She'd do nothing. And she won't be doing anything later, for that matter. Unless...."  
  
"Unless what?" Uranus shifted to see her lover better.   
  
"Unless..." Neptune carefully phrased her reply as she twisted a lock of Uranus' caramel colored hair around her finger. "You promise to look at those papers the orphanage sent us."   
  
"Michiru....." Uranus sighed heavily. "I thought I already promised that."   
  
"I think you need more persuasion."   
  
I closed my eyes, but didn't let my attention wander from their conversation. It was a ongoing dispute between my two oldest friends. And I was cursed with being able to see both sides of the argument. Neptune wanted a child. She wanted to be a mother and she wanted Uranus to be a "father". Uranus, on the other hand, was a Senshi through and through. War and duty. Battle and responsibility. In her mind, a child did not fit into that picture. Any parental longing that existed in her was filled by her charge, the young prince.   
  
Their debate could have continued indefinitely. But just then, out of the blue, two hands covered my eyes from behind. Startled, I reached up and grasped onto the unidentified person's wrist. It was slender; the skin was smooth. "Small Lady...it's not nice to sneak up on people like that."   
  
The hands moved and I opened my eyes to see our pink-haired princess come around from behind my chair. "You're no fun, Puu", she pouted. "You were supposed to guess first."   
  
I had to smile at the mock-disappointment in her red eyes. "I thought you and Saturn were below, ogling the new captain", I winked. "Why are you up here with us old ladies?"   
  
"Speak for yourself, Pluto", Neptune chastised. A glance to my left told me that the strife between the two lovers, for the moment, had been forgotten. They lay on their lounge, curled against each other.   
  
The fifteen year old princess laughed. "We got bored." There was a squeal from across the boat deck. Jupiter had made an airplane out of Motaki and the little boy was loving every minute of flying through the air, secure in Jupiter's arms. His sister scowled. "Did I make that much noise when I was that little?"   
  
"More", Uranus assured her.   
  
Small Lady sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm going below again. Tell Saturn where I am if she's looking for me."  
  
"Where is Saturn?", I asked. The princess pointed. Across the deck, Jupiter's Motaki-airplane landed in Saturn's arms. Saturn hugged the little boy before setting him down. With a flounce, the Small Lady stomped towards the cabin door.   
  
"Ah-ha." Neptune clicked her tongue. "Sibling rivalry at its most royal."   
  
"It's healthy", Uranus replied sleepily, her voice muffled by Neptune's hair. Neptune tightened her grasp on the taller woman's shoulders.   
  
"You all are being very lazy over here." Venus approached us, looking stunning as usual in an old-fashioned red one-piece bathing suit. Her eyes twinkled.   
  
Neptune lifted the sunglasses from Uranus's face, barely getting a word of protest from her half-asleep lover. She put the glasses on and smiled at Venus. "You know us....we like the slow life."   
  
The blond woman laughed and pulled up an empty lounge chair, plopping down into it with a sigh of contentment. "We really ought to do this every month. Or every week."   
  
"Don't be silly, Venus", Mercury came to her friend's side and delicately sat on the edge of her chair. "It's much more prudent to save these moments for when we really deserve them." Venus shook her head good-naturedly.   
  
We settled into a long moment of sated quiet. An ocean breeze swept over us, warmed by the sun. The yacht rolled back and forth gently; the sound of the steady slap of water against the hull was like a lullaby. "Nice little element you've got here, Michi", Uranus mumbled.   
  
Neptune grinned and dropped a sweet kiss onto Uranus' forehead. "I know." She took off the sunglasses and closed her eyes. "It's perfect."  
  
A sudden chill ran down my back. If it were in my power, I would remove the word "perfect" from every language in the world. It was an unattainable state, a dream better left undreamt. Neptune should have known better.   
  
The explosion was deafening. It caught us completely off-guard, seeming to be under us, behind us, all around us. I heard screams, cries. We all scrambled to our feet, checking to make sure we were still intact.   
  
"It came from below!", Uranus declared. She ran a hand over Neptune's cheek; I saw a trickle of blood on the Sea Senshi's flawless features. A sharp pain in my own side told me that more than few pieces of debris had flown at us.   
  
"Oh gods....the crew!", Venus cried.   
  
"Small Lady", I whispered. Across the boat deck there was a cry for help. I looked and saw Mars and Saturn leaning over the railing.   
  
"Jupiter!", Mars yelled to the water. She turned to us. "She got thrown in!"   
  
Ignoring her own injury, Neptune limped across the deck and grabbed onto the railing. Taking a deep breath, she climbed onto the metal supports and dove into the ocean.   
  
"Small Lady", I whispered again. My brain was so clouded; the pieces were just beginning to fall into place. "She's down below!!"   
  
The door to the cabin had been blown off its hinges; great billows of smoke rose from the gaping hole. To my great relief, the captain appeared through the dark cloud just then, one arm supporting our princess' body.   
  
Uranus ran to them. "What happened?", she yelled.   
  
The captain coughed. "The engine blew...I don't know how..." Another fit of coughing overtook him. Saturn ran and helped him with the unconscious princess.   
  
"Is anyone left down there?", Saturn asked.   
  
"Samuel and Robert", he wheezed, naming the first mate and the cook. "But they're...I mean, they have to be..." He shook his head. "It's hell down there....we have to get off this boat..."  
  
Mercury had been steeped in silent shock until then. Suddenly, she came to life. "Venus, help me with the lifeboat." The two women ran for the collapsible dingy.   
  
Uranus ran a hand through her hair and looked around. "Where's Motaki?"   
  
I paled. "He's not with Mars?"   
  
"Oh dear gods!" Saturn put a hand to her mouth. "He wanted to see Chibi-usa...." She trailed off.  
  
"What are you saying?", Uranus demanded.   
  
Shakily, she pointed to the cabin. "He...he went down there to find her....."   
  
There was no pause before Uranus ran for the door. "Uranus!", I called to her. "Uranus!!!" But she ignored me.   
  
Venus and Mercury were struggling with our only escape route. I thought quickly and grabbed a few life vests from the big box on one side of the deck. I handed one to Saturn and took the rest to the other women. Together, we managed to work the ropes that held the lifeboat suspended over the water. Out a few hundred feet, I could see Neptune treading water. Her arm wrapped around Jupiter's head, holding the woman's face out of the ocean.   
  
The lifeboat dropped to the water with a great splash. Quickly, I ushered Mars and Saturn over the side. The captain, who had begun to recover, followed with the Small Lady. Venus and Mercury were reluctant to leave me on board.   
  
"Go!", I yelled to them. "I'm waiting for Uranus." They gave in and climbed down into the dingy.   
  
A minute passed like an hour. The current began to drag the lifeboat away from the side of the yacht. But still, Uranus didn't appear. The wooden deck below my feet grew warmer. There was fire below me.   
  
"Uranus", I cried. "Hurry!!"   
  
I didn't know if she had heard me or not, but just then she reappeared in the cabin door. Motaki clung to her neck, crying uncontrollably. She gasped for fresh air and held the boy out to me. "Take him...." She pointed to the cabin. "They're still...alive down there...."   
  
"You can't go back!" The prince was heavy in my arms. A terrible lump rose in my throat.   
  
Black soot colored her cheeks. She shook her head. "I have to....can't leave them there..." She gave me a lopsided grin, so horribly out of place in the hell that surrounded us. "Tell Michi to save my spot in the lifeboat." With that, she disappeared into the black smoke.  
  
Tears stung my eyes, but I ran for the edge of the yacht. Holding onto the boy for dear life, I climbed over the railing, took a breath and jumped. The water was cold; it bit into my flesh. I quickly resurfaced, making sure Motaki's head was out of the water. The young prince was too stunned to cry any longer. Something lifted him out of my arms. I looked up. Mercury's head hung over mine from the lifeboat. She passed Serenity and Endymion's son to Venus and held out her hand to help me up into the boat.   
  
As soon as I was in, Mars grabbed a paddle and began rowing for Neptune and Jupiter.   
  
"Where's Uranus?" Saturn's nails dug into my arm.   
  
I swallowed. "She's still on board. The others...."   
  
And then, the thing that I will never forget as long as I live. Right before our very eyes, the royal yacht, the Rose Crystal, exploded. Reds, oranges, yellows...blinding white crashed into my brain. Instinctively, we dove for cover. Venus' body tucked around Motaki as water and debris rained down onto us. The shock wave hit the side of the lifeboat, filling the boat with almost an inch of water. Slowly, our heads lifted.   
  
"Uranus", Saturn whispered.   
  
I stared across the water. What remained of the yacht was ablaze. Steam rose from the wreckage as the Rose Crystal steadily slipped under the cold surface. I blinked. And then again. It was too much to take in.   
  
"Oh no....no...", Venus moaned, closing her eyes as if she could block it all out.  
  
There was a splash behind us. "I could use some help here", Neptune called out. My head turned and I looked over the edge of the lifeboat. "Pluto....give me a hand. I'm too tired to lift her in." Neptune's eyes bore into mine expectantly. I blinked once more. Gods, please don't give me the task of being the one to tell her....  
  
On some sort of autopilot, I reached over and grabbed onto Jupiter's arm, hauling her out of the ocean. Venus took ahold of her legs and helped me swing the tall woman's body into the boat. Neptune breathed a sigh of relief. Ocean water slapped against her face and she spit it out. "Haruka", she called out. "Put Motaki down and come help me out of the water."   
  
The other Senshi and I looked at each other. No one was sure what to do next.   
  
"Haruka." Neptune was growing impatient. After another second passed, she kicked her way over to the boat. Grasping onto the wood, she pulled herself out of the water. When she was sitting up again, she tilted her head to the side, presumably to clear her ears of any remaining seawater. As she did, her eyes scanned the boat's passengers, all so strangely silent and stiff. Her head straightened slowly. "Haruka", she said again. There was an edge of fear in her voice.   
  
Mercury's eyes were red-rimmed. Gently, she placed a hand on Neptune's forearm. Neptune shook it off. "Where's Haruka?", she demanded.   
  
A tear ran down Mars' cheek. "We're so sorry, Neptune."   
  
"Don't be sorry, Mars." The aqua haired woman clenched her teeth. "Just tell me where my Ruka is."   
  
My chin dropped to my chest in sorrow. I lifted my arm and pointed out over the water towards the wreckage. "The wind..." I stopped. "The wind blew out."   
  
***********  
  
"You made me laugh; you gave me hope.  
It's over now;  
Our happiness went up in smoke.  
It's over now."  
  
***********  
  
I stood up from my bed. Wiping the moisture from my eyes, I walked to the heavy crystal door and pulled it open.   
  
The Senshi of Neptune stood in front of me. Her hair was a tangled aquatic mess. Tear stains streaked her cheeks. She still wore the same silky beach pajamas she had been wearing on the yacht. They hung limply on her pale body. But it was her eyes that would haunt me for the rest of my life. They were empty puddles of blue. Lifeless. The spark that had once been there had died along with Uranus.   
  
"Were you planning on ignoring me forever?" Her words were dull, yet resounded with bitterness.   
  
I wasn't sure how to reply. It didn't matter; she wasn't waiting for a reply. She pushed past me, into the room. "I've never asked you for anything, Pluto." Back to using my 30th century name. I shivered and closed the door. "I've never asked you to stop time. I've never asked you to go back and change something, to keep it from happening. Never."   
  
"I know." I cleared my throat. "You haven't. But, Neptune..."   
  
She held up one hand abruptly. "I know what you're going to say. And I don't want to hear it. I want Haruka back. It doesn't matter how you do it, just so long as you bring her back to me."   
  
"Neptune...you know that I can't..."  
  
"Don't say that!!", she screamed. "Don't stand there and tell me you can't do it!! I know you can, dammit. I know you can!!" Her jaw tightened. After a long moment, her shoulders slumped in realization and defeat. "You just won't."  
  
"I can't."   
  
"You won't."   
  
"All right." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I won't." I took a step towards her, but she backed up, out of my reach. "But please...please don't believe it's because I don't want to."   
  
She didn't respond. At first, I thought she simply didn't know what to say. But after a moment, I noticed her body shaking with silent sobs. "Haruka...", she moaned. "I can't...I won't be able...to live without her..." Her knees gave out, but I caught her before she could hit the hard, crystal floor. Together, we kneeled, my arms holding her grief-stricken body upright. Her misery surrounded me; it was all I could do to keep myself from breaking down.   
  
"Why?", she cried into my shoulder. "I want to know why she's not here with me anymore! Why did she have to be the one??" Her head lifted until she was looking in my eyes. Hers were bloodshot from the fresh, hot tears that spilled down her face. "Did you know? Did you know this was going to happen?", she asked. Her voice was almost child-like.   
  
I shook my head, not trusting my voice to reply. She closed her eyes, resting her wet lashes against her white skin. "Would you have stopped it if you had?"   
  
"Don't ask me that", I whispered.   
  
Neptune nodded almost mechanically. "I don't really want to know, do I?" Her eyes opened again. "I'm all alone, Setsuna. She's gone...and I'm all alone."   
  
"No." With my thumb, I wiped under her eyes. "You're not."   
  
"I don't want her with me in spirit." Her voice halted as she choked for air. "I want her with me, by my side, every day and every night." We looked at each other for a long time. "I can't have that." She covered her face with one hand. "Oh gods....that hurts. Before, there was the hope...."  
  
"The hope that I could do something?"   
  
She looked down at her hands. "It made it easier." A new wave of sorrow blanketed her. "I don't know what to do next, Setsuna. I can't even bury her...."   
  
A knock at the door prevented my next words. "Who is it?", I called out.   
  
"It's me...Serenity. May I come in?" Our Queen's sweet voice was uncharacteristically sorrowful.   
  
I looked at Neptune. She nodded. "Please", I answered her.  
  
The blue crystal door opened and the Queen's small body slipped into my room. "Oh...Neptune", she said, surprised to see her Sea Senshi. She closed the door and approached us. Without a word, she kneeled onto the floor and gathered Neptune into her arms.   
  
The older woman let the Queen's body enfold her as though she were a small child. Gently, Serenity rocked Neptune back and forth, stroking her hair. "I wish I had the words to comfort you, Neptune. To make this all easier." Her tone was regretful. "I don't. All I can tell you is, Uranus wouldn't want you to go on like this. She couldn't bear it if she knew she was the cause for all this pain you're carrying inside of you."   
  
Neptune nodded against Serenity's shoulder.   
  
"I want her back too, Neptune. Everyone does. She was the strongest of us all. The most loyal." The Queen's eyes closed. "She's gone because of it, but don't you think that if she could have chosen the way to go, she would have chosen this?"   
  
"She would have", Neptune replied softly. "It was in her blood....to die this way. For someone else." She began to cry again, quietly this time. Her tears wet Serenity's hair, but the Queen didn't seem to care.   
  
Serenity opened her eyes again. "I lost a Senshi and a friend, but you lost true love. I won't pretend that they're equal losses. But I can't lose you too, Neptune. I need you."   
  
"For Motaki?", I asked hoarsely.   
  
"I've asked Jupiter to take on the impossible task of filling Uranus' shoes in that regard", the Queen clarified. She looked down at Neptune. "I need you for something even more important, Neptune."   
  
She sat up and looked at Serenity with a mixture of curiosity and surprise. "What's that?"   
  
Serenity reached out and combed her fingers through tangled strands of sea colored hair. "There's a girl coming to the palace today. Eight years old....she's the one."   
  
"The one?", Neptune repeated.   
  
"She has the spirit of the wind, Neptune. The planet power of Uranus", Serenity replied. A small gasp escaped Neptune's lips. "She's very young and sure to be very frightened. I want you...I want you to help her. That is, of course, if you want to."   
  
Neptune's face took on a look that I couldn't interpret. She lowered her eyes and nodded. "Of course I will. If it's what you want." Shakily, she rose to her feet. "I need to...be alone for awhile."   
  
Serenity and I looked up at her understandingly. "Thank you, Neptune", the Queen said. Neptune nodded again before stumbling for the door.   
  
"She needs time", Serenity told me after she was gone.   
  
I smiled sadly. "I can give her that."   
  
***********  
  
Once again, the people of Crystal Tokyo gathered on the palace grounds. But there was no laughter, no cheering. Only mourning.   
  
I looked at the people around me. Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Serenity, Endymion. Neptune. And finally, the Small Lady, holding her brother in her arms.   
  
We did not stand above the people on the crystal balcony. We stood on the grounds, amongst them. And for a moment, there were no titles, no special powers, nothing that separated us from the people. We were one in our grief.  
  
From the line of Senshi, Neptune stepped forward. She was sullenly beautiful in a light lavender summer dress, Uranus' favorite, she claimed. In fact, there was not one speck of black anywhere on the grounds. Neptune had insisted. She delicately cleared her throat and addressed the crowd.   
  
"When I was sixteen years old, I met the person I would love for the rest of my life. Last week, I lost her." She looked down at her trembling hands. "My greatest regret in all of this, is being unable to say all the things I needed to say." A servant approached her, holding a relic from her past. Her violin. "I hope that wherever she is, she can hear this." Neptune took the instrument and perched it on her shoulder. As though she had never stopped, she began to play.   
  
I recognized the music immediately. A piece from the now-ancient Puccini opera, La Boheme. *Sono adati?* The aria of a woman to her lover on the brink of death. There was no soprano accompanying her, however. It was just Neptune, her violin and her grief. The Italian words resounded in my mind although a lifetime had passed since I had last heard them.  
  
*Sono adati?* - Have they gone?  
  
*Fingevo di d'ormire perche' volli* - I pretended to be asleep because I wanted,  
  
*Con te sola restare* - To be alone with you.  
  
*Ho tente cose che ti voglio dire* - I've so many things to tell you.  
  
*O una sola ma grande come il mare* - Or one thing, as huge as the sea.  
  
*Come il mare, profonda ed infinita* - Deep and infinite as the sea.  
  
*Sei il mio amor, e tutta la mia vita* - You are my love and all my life.  
  
When she had drawn the last bittersweet note out of her instrument, she lowered the violin to her side. The same servant gently took it from her. Once more, Neptune spoke.  
  
"Please never forget that there was a great woman who held within her the power of the wind. Remember her as Sailor Uranus, but she will always be my Haruka."   
  
The memorial was over. Slowly, the people began to disperse, forming a line for the chance to pass their hand over the newly erected bench that sat in the middle of the garden. It bore the symbol of Uranus, carved lovingly into the stone. Surrounding it on three sides, were rose bushes.   
  
Only the royal court remained behind. King Endymion approached Neptune and put one hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything you need, Neptune?"   
  
She shook her head. "But thank you." The Senshi looked at each other sadly and began to make their way back into the palace. Soon, there was only Neptune, Serenity and myself again.   
  
"Neptune", Serenity said. "I want you to meet someone." Seemingly out of nowhere, a young girl appeared at Serenity's side.   
  
The Senshi of the Sea double-blinked. "Is this...?"   
  
Serenity nodded. "If you'll excuse me." With a sweep of her white skirts, she followed her husband and her friends.   
  
Neptune looked down at the little girl. She was tall for eight years old with a wiry, knobby body. A long, broom colored braid hung down her back. "Well", Neptune began. "You're the one. You're Uranus."   
  
The girl nodded. "What's your name?"   
  
"Neptune", she replied. "I'm...Neptune."   
  
The girl looked at her curiously. "Is that your real name?"   
  
"No", Neptune said after a short pause. "It's not." The child's look became expectant. "My real name is...Michiru. But no one calls me that anymore."   
  
"May I?"   
  
Neptune's face became very pale. But then, ever so slowly, color began to return to her cheeks. A smile spread onto her lips, the first since that day on the water. "You know....I'd like that very much. Uranus."   
  
The little girl's hand slipped into Neptune's. As I looked at her eyes, I saw the sparkle return. "So, you don't know how to use a sword, do you?" Uranus shook her head. "Well, you're going to learn...." The two Sailor Senshi retreated into the palace, like a mother and her daughter.   
  
And I watched. As always.  
  
***********  
  
"You read my mind; you made me cry.  
Time stood still,   
And now I know the reasons why.  
Time stood still......"  
  
***********  
  
Thank you for reading my story:) If you're going to review it, which I hope you will, please, please, please do not give away the ending!! Lol- I'd really appreciate it.  
  
Kristen Elizabeth 


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